miscalculate
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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miscalculates,
present (3rd person singular)
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miscalculated,
past participle, past
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miscalculating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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miscalculatesimple
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miscalculatessimple
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have miscalculatedperfect
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has miscalculatedperfect
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am miscalculatingprogressive
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are miscalculatingprogressive
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is miscalculatingprogressive
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have been miscalculatingperfect progressive
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has been miscalculatingperfect progressive
Past
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miscalculatedsimple
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had miscalculatedperfect
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was miscalculatingprogressive
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were miscalculatingprogressive
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had been miscalculatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of miscalculate
Explanation
If you add two plus two and get five, you miscalculate. In other words, you've added the numbers incorrectly. You can use the verb miscalculate when you're talking about actual mathematical calculations, or when you measure something in an inexact way and get it wrong. Another way to use the word is to mean "judge incorrectly," which happens when you guess that your grandmother will laugh after sitting on a whoopie cushion, but you guess wrong. Mis, in this word, means "bad or wrong," and calculate means "to compute or estimate."
Vocabulary lists containing miscalculate
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UCPS 6th Grade Roots List #3
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mis-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Because of negativity bias, we miscalculate the upsides and downsides of social life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2024
Then I mentioned to him what the veteran reporter had said to me about the risk that “confirmation bias” was yet again causing the press corps to miscalculate Trump’s odds of survival.
From Slate ● May 20, 2024
Every time any actor decides to roll the iron dice of war, there is a significant chance that they are going to miscalculate.
From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2024
The four-star commander said he is concerned North Korean leaders will miscalculate or mistakenly believe that the escalation of a conflict can be controlled.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 19, 2023
I ain’t partial to swords—the time on the reverse is too long if you miscalculate your swing—but it’s better than a couple of rusty gardening blades.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
But if it miscalculates and raises rates too high or too fast, history suggests it could trigger a recession.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 18, 2018
OnePlus has scaled back the background-blurring effect, which helps to hide the errors when the camera miscalculates whether to blur or keep something in focus.
From The Verge ● Nov. 20, 2017
He goes over his tallies, in case he miscalculated, but he never miscalculates.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 13, 2016
Even when the team indisputably miscalculates, as when the Spurs signed Richard Jefferson to a high-dollar multiyear deal, the situation is dealt with quietly and efficiently.
From Slate ● May 29, 2012
Avoid pride, too; it often miscalculates, and more often misconceives.
From The Gentlemen's Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness Being a Complete Guide for a Gentleman's Conduct in all his Relations Towards Society by Cecil B. Hartley
A fresh report published last month by Zero Waste Scotland concluded that most incinerators are operating well below their maximum capacity, which suggests the capacity gap might have been miscalculated.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
“I see this increasingly as a contest of miscalculated speed,” Kahalzadeh said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Umanksy points to Measure ULA, the voter-approved tax widely referred to as the “mansion tax,” as an example of miscalculated promised outcomes.
From MarketWatch ● May 22, 2026
But regardless of the intention, Fairhope miscalculated in prosecuting Gamble.
From Slate ● May 4, 2026
For the same reason that people throughout history have miscalculated.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
These days, its own mathematical ability is just about the only thing that AI is miscalculating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
The food safety watchdog has issued new guidance over caffeine in food supplements after a man died miscalculating the amount he was meant to use.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2024
Ford was accused of misleading the EPA by intentionally miscalculating factors used in certification testing.
From Reuters ● Apr. 21, 2023
News and World Report college rankings, after admitting to miscalculating data in its submissions to the ratings.
From New York Times ● Sep. 13, 2022
Once George Dally, miscalculating the depth of a savage little stream, stepped boldly in and was swept away like a flash of light.
From The Settler and the Savage by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
